Inquiries by a Chinese regulator prompted Nigeria-focused payments company Opay Ltd. to halt its $300 million US initial public offering (IPO) just hours after setting the price, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.
OPay has no operations in China and generates no revenue there. Its only connection to the nation is through its founder Zhou Yahui, a Chinese businessman.
Zhou also founded Kunlun Tech, a Chinese technology firm that previously owned the dating app Grindr, and was part of a group that bought part of Norway’s Opera Ltd. in 2016.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission was not available for comment.
The probe into a company without any business on the mainland shows Beijing’s increasing attempts to impact global firms. Earlier this year, it forced Meta Platforms Inc. to unwind a $2 billion acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Manus.
At stake for OPay is a $4 billion valuation of the company, while the IPO was expected to provide a boost for Africa’s venture-backed technology sector. The industry has struggled with fundraising and muted deal activity since the post-pandemic slowdown in private capital markets.
OPay is headquartered in Singapore, but Nigeria remains the primary source of business for the application.
The West African powerhouse generated 88.1 percent of the total revenue in 2025.
By March 2026, approximately 70 percent of Nigerian monthly active wallet users engaged with more than five products within the ecosystem. The usage metrics indicate an expansion from basic payment processing into additional digital financial services.
The company, which has about 50 million monthly active users, also has customers in Egypt, Indonesia, and Pakistan.
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